Recording problems cause crisis in KZN courts
According to a report in The Mercury, the judicial system in KwaZulu-Natal and possibly in other parts of the country is facing a crisis after the discovery that records of court proceedings are in disarray.
This is following the introduction of a new recording system at High Courts this month. A failure within the system in KZN has resulted in parts or all of certain proceedings not being recorded on to discs to be transcribed and then typed. The report says this means that all affected records will probably have to be reconstructed from notes kept by judges, assessors and state and defence attorneys. If a record cannot be reconstructed, convictions could be set aside on appeal and retrials ordered. A Department of Justice official was unable to confirm that the problem extended to other provinces. However, the company responsible for the supply and installation of the new recording equipment, Dimension Data, maintained that it and the Justice Department believed that the problem was an isolated incident confined to Pietermartizburg. The Mercury report not available online